Niko

Niko helped his mother hang the freshly washed laundry on the clothesline. When they were done with hanging the laundry out to dry, Niko dug up some potatoes from the garden for their supper. Ever since his father was killed by a group of Bandits, Niko has has to step up and take care of the house, his mother and his little sister. The family's supper of boiled potatoes was plain and bland, but at the very least, it was filling.

That night, on the eve of his sixteenth birthday, Niko took it upon himself to find and kill the Bandit that killed his father himself. He took a map, a meat cleaver, and a simple wooden mallet and crept into the night, taking one last short look at his humble home over the horizon.

Niko traveled for miles on foot when he found an Iberian wolf with his paw stuck in a snare.

Niko carefully removed the snare and gave the Wolf a bite of Beef Jerky. The Wolf befriended Niko and decided to follow him on the rest of his journey.

"I think I'll call you Argentus!" Declared the boy.

Niko and Argentus crossed the forest when a Minotaur came charging through. Argentus leapt forth and snapped his jaws at the Minotaur's throat, when at that exact moment, An Iberian Lynx with a slight limp in it's hind leg leapt forward and snapped it's jaws down on the Minotaur's throat on the other side of it's neck. Blood gushed forward in all directions like a fountainhead, and the Wolf and Lynx jumped off as the Minotaur slumped forward and didn't get back up.

Niko saw the Lynx lick it's hind leg and got an idea. He ripped a piece of his shirt off and wrapped it around the Feline's injured leg. The grateful Iberian Lynx purred and rubbed up against the boy.

"I think I'll call you Savage!" Said Niko.

Niko, Savage and Argentus climbed up a hill, and just over the horizon was a mining village. Niko got a job digging up ore in exchange for free food and room fare for the night at the inn.

They had just hauled a large cart full of boulders at the mouth of the mine when the sound of screaming ruined the peace

"BANDITS ARE ATTACKING!! RUN AWAY!! HIDE YOUR VALUABLES!!!" yelled the villagers.

The horde of Bandits had appeared in front of the Iron Mine.

" Just hand over the Iron Ore, boy, and no one will get hurt...much!" Said the Leader of the Bandit group.

Niko pushed the cart in the Bandit Group's general direction, and when the cart tipped over forward, the Boulders inside flew at the Bandits. The Boulders hit several Raiders, crushing them.

A Raider rushed forward at the boy. Savage leapt forth and mauled the attacker.

Enraged, the leader ran towards the boy, brandishing his crude stone battle-axe. Argentus the Wolf leapt forth at the leader of the group of Bandits, while Savage the Lynx leapt forth and clamped down on his other arm.

The Bandit Leader hit the Wolf in a desperate attempt to get the Wolf to remove it's jaws from his shoulder, and it's claws from his arm and torso. "Let...go of me...you...stupid...beasts!!! I'll kill you both!!!" Growled the marauder.

Niko rushed at the leader of the Bandit horde, Pickaxe still in his hand, and swung the Mining Tool at the Leader's head, the handle embedding itself in the man's skull. The man fell over, limp and lifeless. The villagers cheered.

"You saved us from those awful Bandits! I hereby declare an honorary member of our village!" Said the village leader.

"Thank you, but I'm looking for the Bandits that killed my father!" Niko said.

There was a pause from the villagers. The town baker then said "There's a Witch who lives in the swamp just to the east of here, I'm sure she should know where to find them! She's an amazing soothsayer!"

"Thanks for the advice sir!" Niko said.

Niko, Argentus and Savage navigated the swamp until they came across a cave decorated with gourds, feathers and bones hanging on rope. Niko, Savage and Argentus entered the cave, lit by torchlight, to find a Witch stirring a cauldron inside.

"Welcome to my humble abode, Niko! Welcome Savage! Welcome Argentus!"

"How do you know all of our names?" Niko asked.

"The spirits foretold me of your arrival. I know why you are here to see me, Niko..." The Cave Witch started.

"I'm looking for the Bandits who my mother said killed my father, so I may enact revenge!" Niko interrupted.

"Your mother LIED to you, boy. Bandits didn't kill your father...YOU did." corrected the Cave Witch.

"What? What are you talking about, madame?" Niko said, confused.

"Allow me to clarify...." said the Swamp Witch, grabbing a pouch full of Magic Powder.

The Swamp Witch put some Magic Powder into the cauldron, and a red haze emanated from the vessel, showing a vision of the past.

In the vision of the past, Niko's father, bored with living a farming life and tempted by another woman, walked out on his wife and infant son in the dark of the night to start a new life with that other woman in another village. One day, in a heated fight, he killed the woman he left his family for, headed out into the woods, and formed a group of murderous Bandits that terrorized the country until Niko, Savage and Argentus defeated them.

Niko shuddered. At that point, a painful TRUTH had come to LIGHT. Bandits didn't kill Niko's father, HE did. His mother had lied to him about his father, and now he did something that was unforgivable because of it.

"Madame soothsayer, is...is there any way that I...I can make amends for my greivous sin?" Asked Niko, full of remorse.

The Witch put an ornately decorated Bison Skull over her head and lit a candle. She sat in silence, as if she listening to unheard instructions.

There was a pause, followed by "I see....Niko, the Spirits have spoken to me." She then took off the skull from her head

"According to the Spirits, there is a field full of boulders and rocks south of the swamp where a proud city once stood until your father's group of Bandits destroyed it. The Spirits say you may atone by rebuilding the abandoned city with the stones." Answered the swamp witch.

And so Niko, Argentus and Savage traveled south to the field, rebuilding the city with the boulders, rocks and stones, with Argentus and Savage digging fields and waterways. Then people came back to the city and Niko sat next to Savage and Argentus behind a tree, and cried, eyes closed.